The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-12-16
MINERS, ODD BELIEFS.
They Believe That Loose Rocks Fall at
Midnight.
From, The Konsds city Journal.

mountain, and the miners sleeping III the
cabin at the mouth of the entrance of the
tunnel site, were awakened by the noise A
force of men were engaged in driving the
Sangre de Cristo tunnel, but this particular
night there was no shift at work. 1t
had already been driven in several hun
dred feet through slide, to cut gray copper
vein.
''What is that?' heard a tenderfoot in
the camp exclaim, as he was reused from his
slumber.
''Oh, go to sleep, pard," exclaimed an old
miner, that's nothing much
''Well, but what is it9' again asked the
same questioner.
''Some rock and set of timbers at the
end of the tunnel have fallen in, but that's
nothing We can soon fix it up to-mor-
row."
STRANGE, isn't it? again said the tender
foot miner.
''Strangea No. 1t must be IL o'clock"
"Whyp
Crooks fall in the mines usually at mid
night"
SWhyl"
Just because they do More rocks fall
into the mines at midnight than any other
time. That's all the reason | know. But
they do, and 1 have worked in the mines a
good many years"
One of the party then struck a light,
took down a watch from crevice in
one of the logs of the cabin and looked at
it.
1t was midnight
Miners are superstitous. Men who labor
underground are always so, and especially
those who court tickle fortune, hunting for
gold and silver veins in the mountains.
Often you will hear miners say that rocks
are more apt to fall at midnight than at
any other time. On this occasion the old
miner was correct as to the time, and when
the time was called out, he did not seem at
all surprised, considering it only as matter
of fact, which should not have been ques-
toned IN the first place
MANY incidents are related in the camps
of this strange influence over men. A friend
of mine was once working in the Bull-Do-
mingo mine and saved his life through pre-
sentiment or superstitious feeling. He was
working in the night shift, and late in the
afternoon was awakened from his slumber
and notified by the foreman to get ready for
work In telling me the story afterward
he said that something seemed to be warn
ing him not to work that night. But he
threw off the feeling, ate his supper, put or
his miners suit and started toward the shaft
house. He had gone about half the distance,
when the same superstitious feeling pos
sessed him, and, stopping moment, he
thought the matter over, and, returning to
the boarding house near by, hired a man in
his place.
There was an accident that night and the
man who had taken his place was killed.
The shift was sinking the main shaft deeper,
preparatory running lower levels. The
water was Troublesome and the cage had
been lowered 18th a barrel, which was filled
with water. When the cage began to ascend
three of the men stepped out from under it,
but the fourth stood in the centre of the
shaft leaning on his shovel When up
,rNiac of an0I hrnl 10
and down came the cag,, crushing the poor
fellow to death. The young man who re-
fused to work that night, III telling me of the
incident afterward, said:
Something seemed to be almost pulling
me back that night and saying: Don't go
down the shaft, don't go down the shaft
and didn't &c. l don't know how to ac-
count for it and never will, but it saved my
life"
One evening" while sitting around the
stove in one Of the hotels in the camp,
man named Fletcher, hailing from Ohio,
told strange, weird story. He was quiet
kind of a fellow, and not given to
springing wild stories. He and his partner,
so his story ran, had been working claim
Cristo range. They were prospecting for
gray copper vein. A shaft had been sunk
about 40 feet and then drill was started on
tho vein. This drift was within about 20
feet from the shaft, and the last day they
had worked the claim a bowlder about 2
feet in diameter was blown out of the vein.
sit was about time to quit" said. MIR.
Fletcher, ''and we concluded to windlass out
what loose work there was and popshoot
the bowlder the next morning. Before
leaving we placed our mining tools and
bucket in a corner of the shaft and then
went to our cabin 1t was cold night and
considerable snow fell The next morning
OH 2,1n II f.atrr RI 10 hat
resume our work for the day. | lowered
my partner down and was preparing to de-
scend myself, when | heard him call out
Fletcher, hoist away / asked him what
was the matter, but he would give me no
definite answer, and in rather husky voice
repeated his request that l haul him out,
which did After stepping on the plat
form, he said:
"'You know that bowlderF
eyes l replied, but what of it?
1t is gone he said.
"'GoneP
Eyes, gone
81 refused to believe him, although OBJ
served that his face was little pale and he
seemed quite nervous. had him lower me
down the shaft, and, sure enough, that large
bowlder, 2 feet in diameter was gone. The
tools had not been disturbed, and no one
else could have possibly gone down that
shaft since we left it the night before. The
SHOW nau Iallen, ana UneT6 was nOb Une
least sign of track leading to or from the
shaft"
did the mine ever pan out anything af
forwards" asked one of the interested group
of listeners.
Pan out! The devil, no! / have been
unable to get my partner down in that shaft
since. And one thing do know-the bowl
der we had left that night was gone the next
morning, and neither of us ever knew what
became of it,"
Some men use fortune tellers in searching
for mines and developing them. The divin-
ing rod has been used on many mountain
side and its indications followed. recently
visited a well-known fortune teller in Den
yer, for the purpose of learning something
definite as to stories circulated that some
mining operators seek this class to have them
foretell or advise them how to seek for the
precious metals.
Certainly they do,n said the old woman
in weird-like manner, shutting the cards
Snow, you keep out Of the mines" she
said, speaking to me; ''your fortune is on
top of the ground, yes, on top of the ground,
and you try real estate. Keep out Of the
ground. The cards and the white of this
egg | have broken show no veins of mineral
for you."
tsRt,f do ,,,a,, a,yar caol- vo,,Y. old ~, hunt